Nature-ral High

Do not follow where the path may lead. Go, instead, where there is no path and leave a trail

October 8, 2011

Mt. Kosciuzsko (Preparation, Logistics and Travel)

When I told an American friend about my Australia assignment during a family dinner. "Why dont you climb Kosciuzsko, its not that high but its one of the seven summits" - he told me. Its the first time I heard of this mountain, but it gave an idea on what adventure I can do in the land down under.

Fast forward to mid-september, for two weeks I had been researching almost every night on how to go to Thredbo, a village right at the foot of Kozy (how the Australians calls Kosciouzsko). There are two ways to reach the summit, via Thredbo or Charllotte pass. I chose Thredbo for mainly two reasons, it can be reached by public transport during ski season and there is a backpackers lodge. I also checked if its possible to climb Kozy during early spring, since most Australians climb this mountain during summer. A date was also chosen, October 1-2 since, October 3 was a public holiday in NSW. I will have an additional day to rest. Since Ski season (winter) was almost over in Thredbo, only a few transportation regularly go there. I chose the one most convenient, cheapest (though its not cheap) and was okay for my chosen dates.

Below is the summary of my Itinerary

Oct01

7:00 AM - ETD Sydney to Thredbo (Bus)

3:15 PM - ETA Thredbo

3:15 PM - LOdge in Hostel, roam around the village. prepare for next day.

Oct02

6:00 AM - start of climb (not use the chairlift)

12:00 NN -ETA summit

3:00 PM - ETA Express Chairlift to village

4:15 PM - ETD Thredbo to Sydney (Bus)

12:00 MN - ETA SYDNEY

The Bus ride is via reservation, so I really need to be there on the time of departure, and only one bus travel each day. The last bus for the snow season was October 3. There is also a chairflift (Kosciuszko Express) from thredbo up to certain part of the mountain, this is a help for skiiers to be able to reach the snow easily.

A week into the climb date I was monitoring the weather forecast. Eventhough its early spring, the weather had been bad in NSW, even in Thredbo. On the last minute, I had to adjust my climb schedule to October 2-3, since the weather forecast was better during this dates. Good thing the bus and lodge booking can easily be moved.

The travel from Sydney to Thredbo was approximately 7-8 hours (500KM approx), stopping only in Canberra. As we arrived in the village, the weather was worst than I expected. The mountain was full of clouds, and it was drizzzling hard along the road. The mountain trail has a 10 feet visibility. To make the situation worst, the driver told me there were no more bus travelling the next day (October 3), he was so -sure since he was the driver assigned for the snow season. But the customer service says otherwise. In any case I have no choice, I leave the worrying for tomorrow since my biggest concern was the climb. Arriving at the village, the temperature was Negative celcius.

Bad Weather

One thing good was the lodge Manager (Nadia) was very kind. She helped me how to go around the village and anything she possibly can. She also help me in monitoring the weather forecast the next day. The forecast changed again, and was not good.

Thanks Nadia

Dining and Living Room

Another view of the Mountain top

I visited Thredbo sports (rental) to check for the gear I need tomorrow. I plan to hire snow boots since my hiking shoes is not waterproof. They said I will also need snow shoes since there was fresh snow all week, problem was they open 8:00am, I decided to change my Itinerary and just take the chairlift going up. Snow shoes are also heavy that it was difficult hike carrying it (early part has no snow).

Thredbo Map

I slept with a heavy heart worrying about tomorrow. I also prayed that a miracle would happen about the weather. Related posts: